Rob Evans of Hugos wins Beard Award

Woohoo! Rob Evans, chef and co-proporitor of the four-diamond Hugo’s Restaurant, in Portland, won the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast.

Evans, who won the distinction of being named by Food & Wine as one of the top new chefs in the country in 2004, has previously been nominated for the Beard award in 2007 and 2008. Evans is also the mastermind behind Duckfat, which should win Beard for best fries in the country.

Evans bested another Maine team, Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, of Arrows, in Ogunquit; Michael Leviton, Lumiere, in West Newton, Mass.; Tony Maws, of Craigie on Main, in Cambridge, Mass.; and Mark Orfaly, of Pigalle, in Boston, to win the coveted award.